Winona Ryder left confused after thinking Fifty Shades of Grey was about the economy

Winona Ryder attends the special New York screening of The Iceman in New York last month Getty

Winona Ryder is so "out of the loop" she thought Fifty Shades of Grey was about the "economy" because of the erotic thriller's sedate cover.

The 42-year-old actress admitted she is "out of the loop" with popular culture and had a bizarre encounter with author E.L. James about her erotic thriller because although she had heard of the book, its sedate sleeve, which depicts a smart tie, left her confused about its subject matter.

She said: "This is how out of the loop I am. I met E.L. James at a party and I'd heard about the book so I knew everyone was talking about it, but because there's a tie on the cover I thought it was about Wall Street."

"I think I said something really stupid to her because I literally thought it was about the economy."

The Edward Scissorhands star is "waiting" for the right project to come along and is desperate to work with The Wire creator David Simon but has no idea how to approach him.

Speaking to the new edition of Red magazine, she said: "I'm waiting for the thing that gives me that feeling."

"I've been trying to write [David] a letter to tell him I want to work with him. But how do you write a letter to a writer? He's the person that I hope to work with one day."